Scio board incumbents facing a slate of challengers

Seven Scio Township residents, including two incumbent board members, have formed a slate seeking nomination in the Aug. 5 Democratic primary.

The slate, calling itself The Team for Scio 2008, seeks to unseat the current supervisor and clerk and two trustees running for re-election.

One trustee, David Nacht, is not seeking re-election.

The slate consists of supervisor candidate Doug Fuller; clerk candidate Nancy Hedberg; current Treasurer Donna Palmer, seeking re-election to that post; and trustee candidates Jim Dries (an incumbent), Christine Green, Tom Hanson and Marty Mayo. Palmer ran unopposed for the position in 2004 as a Republican and has been the township's treasurer since 1987.

"The Team for Scio was organized on the belief that Scio residents deserve professionalism, civility and respect from their elected officials," Fuller said in a press release. "Scio can only hope to maintain its natural beauty, high quality of life, and low taxes if its government officials work with each other and with the numerous other agencies that impact life in Scio."

Green is secretary of the township Planning Commission, chairwoman of the zoning ordinance amendment subcommittee and a member of the Parks and Recreation master plan review subcommittee.

Hanson is vice chairman of the Planning Commission and chairman of the master plan revision subcommittee.

Mayo has been a planning commissioner for 11 years and serves on the township's sewer services advisory commission as well as on the township's Downtown Development Authority.

Four of the other five incumbents on the board, all Democrats, said they will be running in the primary.

"Yes, I'm running," said Supervisor Charlie Nielsen. "I may run with a slate or with a partial slate. I don't know yet."

Clerk Kathleen Knol also said she plans to run for office. "I'm running, but I'm undecided as to what position I'll run for or whether I'll be part of a slate," she said Monday.

Trustee Jean King said she will seek re-election but not as part of a slate.

"I'm running for trustee, but I'm running independently (of a slate)," she said.
Ream, who was first elected to the board in 1988, said, "I'll be running, Jean King will be running, Charlie will be running. We will all run on our strong record, and they will lose," he said of the new slate.

Ream called the challengers a group of "country club Democrats who are willing to betray the people who got them there. They think they deserve to be in office after we showed them Democrats could win in 2004."

Nacht said he will not seek re-election.

"I feel like the township is in excellent shape and I've enjoyed serving the citizens. ... I'm happy to let other citizens take over this role."